Transportation system



` Nnlfchzo, 1922!f -V 1,663375 i H. W. KIRCHNER I TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed April 4, 1921 s sheets-sheet 1 March 2o, 192:;

H. w. KIRCHNER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM @ed April 4. 1921 3 Sheds-Sheet 2 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Filed April 1 1. 1921 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 20, 1928.

UNITED` STATES HENRY W. KIRCHNER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

Application led April 4,

My invention relates to improvements in transportation systems in which a carrier, such as a railroad car, barge, truck', or the like, is designed to receive a plurality of freight containers which are adapted to bel said container will be caused to sway and rock when the carrier is set in motion, the point of fulcrum of this rocking motion being located along the bottom edge of the container. This swaying or rocking motion of the container is caused by the heaving and jarring of the moving carrier or by the momentum when thev carrier is rounding a curve or coming to a stop.

The object of my invention is to provide a carrier and unit freight containers which are adapted to be positioned on said carrier and have inter-engaging relations therewith whereby. said containers are locked against any rocking or'lateral movement 'so that said containers will be held firmly in position on the carrier and prevented from being displaced by the heavi-ng and jarring of said carrier.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a unit container adapted t be positioned on a carrier and having portions which are designed to engage portions of said carrier whereby said container can be moved in a vertical direction out of engage'- ment therewith but is locked by virtue of t e interlocking engagement of saidv portionsagainst rocking or swaying movement.

.A further object is to provide means on said carrier for lcooperating with said containers so that the latter are held against movement in a vertical plane, and thereby locked in position on said carrier.' With these and other obJects 1n view, my invention consists 1n certain novel features 1921. Serial No. 458,471.

of construction and arrangementof parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a carrier,-in this instance arailroad car-having a number of containers positioned thereon.

Fi gurev 2 is a vertical cross section on line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective detail view of a container looking at its underside.

Figure 4 is a perspective detail view of one ofthe receptacles designed to-be positioned on the carrier to receive portions of the container.

Figure 5 is a perspective detail view of a closure member used to normally close th receptacle. f

Figure 6 is a horizontal cross section through the receptacle and a portion of the container showing said container in locked position.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the means used in locking containers on the carrier and showing said means in locked position.

Figure 8 is a similar view showing said means in unlocked position.

Figure 9 is a cross section 'taken on line 9 9 of Figure 7. y f l y Figure 10 is a vertical cross section through the carrier and showing the container locked thereon.

Figure 11 is a vertical section through the carrier showing the container removed and the closure plate locked in its closed position.

Figure 12 is a plan view of a modified form of carrier with some lof the containers in position thereon.

Figure 18 is a vertical cross section on line A Figure 14 is a perspective detail view of a modied form of a receptacle in position on the carrier.

Referring by numerals 4to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment yof my invention, 10 indicates a carrier, such as a railwayv car, having a fiat body or supporting platform which is provided with a series of diagonally disposed vertical apertures forming receptacles or4 sockets These receptacles are provided with horizontal flanges in which are seated suitable fastening devices such as bolts 12, wlnch engage the carrier and hold sald receptacles in position therein.

The body of each receptacle extends downwardly through the apertures formed in the carrier, and formed in the body of each receptacle is a vertically disposed opening 11n which is preferably rectangular in crosssection. These receptacles are arranged in series of four, and the series are arranged in two rows which are parallel with the longitudinal axis of the carrier. Projecting outwardly from a side wall of each receptacle are lugs or ears 14, in which are seated the ends of a rod 15 which forms a pivotal support for a closure plate 16. Closure plate 16 is adapted to normally close the upper end of opening 11"L formed in the correspondingreceptacle 11 by means of a coiled spring 147'v positioned on rod 15 and havingv one end anchored on said receptacle and its opposite end pressing against the underside of closure plate 16. The vertically disposed opening 16l formed in one of the side walls of receptacle 11 provides clearance for closure 'plate 16 when the same is pressed downwardly and outwardly by the insertion of lugs or depending projections 18 formed onthe underside of containers 19. These projections are preferably diagonally disposed on the container and are spaced with relation to each other whereby they coincide with andare adapted to enter the openings 11a of corresponding receptacles 11 when container 19 is positioned on carrier 10.

Slidably mounted in one of the side walls of each receptacle 11 and preferably oppositel-y disposed to the pivotal mounting of `closure plate 16 is a locking bolt or pin 20, the inner endv of which is adapted to enter a recess 18a formed in one of the side faces of the projection 18.` The outer end of bolt .20 is provided with a vertical pin 21 which traverses an angularly disposed slot 22 formed in the outer end of arm 24, the latter projecting laterally from a bar 25 transversely mounted in bearings 26 on the under side of the carrier 10.

There is a series of bars 25, and each bar is provided lwith a plurality of lateral arms 24 so as to lock simultaneously all four projections on each container. In the drawings; I have shown the bars 25 arranged transversely on the carrier whereby the two con-A tainers can be locked simultaneously by the operation of each'bar; but if desired, bars 25 can be mounted longitudinally on the carrier for locking one complete row of con` tainers, or a portion thereof, simultaneously by said bar. Bars 25 are operated by manually operable levers 27 fulcrumed on the underside of the carrier and adjacent to each end of said bars 25. By operating the levers 27 in the proper direction, bar 25 is caused by virtue of downwardly depending portions or pins 25a carriedby sai-dbar on each side of said levers 27 to slide forwardly or rearwardly, whereby bolts 20 are caused to move inwardly or outwardly by the angu larly disposed horizontal slots 22 lengaging vertical pins 21 fixed to the upper ends of each bolt 20.

In the modified forms illustrated in Figures 12, 13 and 14, the sides of the carrier 10a are provided with brackcts28 which project outwardly vfrom said carrier and are providedwith angularly disposed pockets or openings 29. A By arranging 4.the brackets' 28 outwardly on the sides'of the carrier, I increase the space between the longitudinal rows of containers so that a person can pass between thc rows of containers or I can utilize the spacey tions. When in -this position plates 16 are,

locked against downward movement by locking bolts 20 which are moved into eX- tended position so that their inner ends engage the undersides of the corresponding closure plates 16. Thus the plates are held against displacement, so that workmen stepping on said plateswill not be injured by the yielding of said plates under the weight of the workmen.

To move locking bolts 2O into their locking position, bar 25 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure7 by means of one of the-levers 27 so as to bring lateral arms 24 toward receptacles 11. This forward movement of bar 25 causes slots 22 to operate pins 21, whereby bolts 20 are lmoved inwardly into receptacles 11 and under closure plates 16.

In order 'tov place a container in position on the carrieiga corresponding bar 25 is opf erated by lmeans of `lever 27 to movein the direction indicatedby the arrow in Figurev 8, whereby its 'lateral larms 24 are moved from receptacles 11 so that locking bolts 20 through their engagement with angularly disposed slots 22 will be retracted o r moved outwardly out of engagement with closure,

plates 16. Container' 19 is now placed in position on the carrier so that its legs or downward projections 18 will coincide with openings 11a formed in receptacles 11. The

weight of the container will overcome the strength of springs 17 when 'projections 18 lull ian

1,668,375 i j B are inserted in said openings and cause said plates to move into the position shown in Figure 10. In this position the container is resting on the carrier and the depending projections occupy posit-ions with their respective receptacles or sockets.

To lock the containers in position, the corresponding lever 27 is operated to cause bar 25 to slide in bearings 26 and bring arms 24 toward receptacles 11. Thel inclined Walls of slots 22 will force pins 21 to move toward receptacles 11 and thereby move the inner endsv of bolts 20 into the receptacle 11 so as to enter recesses 18n formed in the corresponding faces of legs 18, whereby the container is locked against vertical movement.

The receptacles-for receiving the legs or projections on the carriers are preferably arranged in groups of four, radially disposed, so that the arc. of rocking movement ofthe legs should the (iontainer rock on either side edge, will be such that the differentradii will produce a binding effect, tending to prevent accidental displacement of the container. These receptacles are arranged in groupsof four for the small unit container. and these groups are also preferably arranged in defiunit or a multiple thereof may be located and locked in position on the carrier. This enables the carrier or carriers to be standardized whereby the unit 'containers or multiples thereof are interchangeable and can be transposed fromone position to another irrespective of the `nature of the carrier, i. e.,

the carrier may be a truck, railway car, a barge, or the like. When the containers are on aplatform and resting on their legs or projections, a space is provided under them onto which a truck may be introduced for the purpose of moving them'from place to place, or the containers may be moved from lace to place by a derrick, crane, or overead carriers.

In Figure 12, I have shown unit containers 19 as being spaced apart on the carrier so as to provide a central passageway therebetween. In Figure 1, these unit containers are shown more closely arranged. At 19a in Figure 12, I have shown in dottedlines a .multiple container which extends entirely across the car so that its legs 18, disposed at its four corners may be received in the pockets 29 at the edges of the carrier. At 19", Figure 12, I have shown a still-larger multiple container which may also be provided with legs 18 at its four corners to engage With the pockets 29 at the edges of the carrier. According to the illustration` in Figure 12, the container 198L hasl a capacity of about three times that of one of the smaller size containers shown in this figure, whereas the multiple container 19a has a capacity of about three times that of one of the unit containers and the large container 19b nite relation to each other so that a single has a capacity of about nine times that of one of the unit containers 19.

It will be observed that when the multiple containers 19a or 19b are used on the carrier,

the intermediate `pockets 11a are not in use and consequently the legs at the four corners of these multiple containers in effect straddle the platform of fthe carriage; and whether the small units or a multiple of a unit, such as' shown in Figure-12, is mounted on the carrier, one or more edges of the container will overhang a side edge lof the carrier. This permits the legs which extend downwardly from these overhanging portions to enter the stake pockets7 29, these legs by their engagement with the stake pockets at the side edges of the carrier constituting the fastening means for holding the container against lateral and longitudinal displacement as well as against tilting movement.

The pockets 11a and 29 are so disposed on the carrier that a unit container or a multiple thereof may be interchangeably positioned on the carrier according to the lading and 'the desire of the shipper.

What I' claim is: l

1. The `combination with a carrier, of a container supportedon the floor thereof and having projections engaging said carrier, said projections occupying planesrelative to said carrier so that when said carrier isl tilted and the center of gravity of said c011- tainer is changed, the arcs of movement from the fulcrum point of said container are such as to bind said container in its seat. f

2. The combination of a carrier having a iiat supporting surface and means below the level of said surface for engaging -a unit container or a multiple thereof at predetermined points, whereby movement of said unit container or its multiple in any direction is prevented.

3. The combination of a carrier and a container having radially disposed interengaging parts whereby the movement of the container on the carrier is prevented. j

4. The combination of a carrier and a. container of a unit size or multiple thereof, said container having projections designed to interengage with lsaid carrier, and means for locking said container on said carrier against tilting movement.

5. The combination with a carrier, of a container of a unit size or multiple thereof,`

which are arranged to interchangeably enter into intciengaging relation with portions of said carrier when the same are positioned thereon, whereby each container is movable upwardly in a vertical direction but held against rocking or swaying movement, and means for locking said containers against movement in a vertical direction.

7. The combination With a carrier, of a plurality ot containers adapted to be yremovably positioned thereon, open top receptacles arranged in said carrier and having their upper elids flush with the upper face of said carrier, projections depending from the bottom of each container and adapted to enter said receptacles when the container is positioned on the Carrier, .whereby said container is locked against lateral or roeking movement, and closure members arranged in each receptacle and adapted to normally close the open topstheieof.

8. The combination with a carrier, of a plurality of containers adapted to be removably positioned thereon, open top receptacles arranged in said carrier and having their upper ends flush with the upper face ot said carrier, projections depending from the bottom of each container and adapted to enter said'receptaclcs when the container is positioned on the carrier, whereby Said containers are locked against lateral'or rocking movement, closure members arranged in each receptacle and adapted to normally close the open tops thereof, and means for locking said closure members in closed positions.

9. The combination with a carrier, of a plurality of open top receptacles fixed therein, unit containers adapted to be removably positioned on said carrier, and a plurality of projections extending downwardly from the bottoni/of each container and adapted to entercertain of said receptacles when the container is positioned on the carrier and hold said container against lateral or rocking movement.

10. The combination with a carrier, of a .plurality of open top receptacles fixed therein, unit containers adapted to be removably positioned on said carrier, -a plurality of projections tiXedly secured to and extending downwardly from the bottom ot each container :rnd adaptedto enter certain ot'said receptacles when the container is positioned on the carrier and hold said container against lateral or rocking movement, and means mounted on said carrier and adapted to engage said projections and lock said containers in position on said carrier.

11. The combination with a carrier, of a plurality of open top receptacles fixed therein and arranged in series in spaced relation with each other, closure members adapted to normally close the open tops of said receptacles, interchangeable unit containers ricr, and -iiieans on said overhanging adapted to be removably positioned on said carrier, a plurality of projections extending downwardly from the bottom of each container and adapted to enter -a series of said receptacles when the container is positioned on the carrier, said closure plates being adapted to be displaced from their normal position by tlieinsertion of projections on the container.

l2. The combination with a carrier, of a plurality of open top receptacles fixed in said carrier. closure members adapted to yieldingly close the open top' ends of said receptacles, unit containers adapted to be removably positioned on said carrier, a plurality of projections depending "from the body of each container and adapted to displace said closure members and enter said receptacles, and means for locking said closure members in closed position when the container is removed from thecariier.

13. The combination ofv a carrier, of containers having feet rigidly secured thereto and extending below the level of the carrier, and means rigidly connected to said carrier for receiving said feet to prevent the con tainers from shifting and tilting on the carrier. j

. 14. The, combination of a carrier, a container extending across the carrier and provided with fxedly mounted downwardly extending portions, and means provided at the edges of the' carrier for cooperating with said portions to prevent the container from shifting and tilting on the carrier.

l5. The combination of a carrier, a container extending across the carrier and having rigid feet which straddle the carrier, and pockets -at the outer edges of the carrier for receiving said feet thereby preventing the containers from shifting and tilting on the carrier.

16. The combination of a carrier, a container oveihanging the edges of said carporholding the same gainst shifting and tilting movetions ofthe container for in position a ments. 4

17. The combination of a carrier having a platform, a container overhanging the edges of said platform. and means located at the edges of the platformfor engaging the overhanging portions of a container for holding the latter in position. y

18. The combination of a carrier, a container overhanging the edges of said carrier, and means on said overhanging portions for cooperating with complementary means located at the edges of the ing the container in position.

19. The combination of a carrier, a con` .tainer adapted to bel supported thereby` said container having a dimension greater than the corresponding dimension of the carrier when said container is in position on said carrier for holdil carrier, *and fastening means located within the zone .securm-g the container to the carrler. 20. A carrier having arranged pockets or recesses,

.said pockets.

' said platform of such unequal dimensions for 22. A carrier having pockets or recesses arranged in a series of definitely arranged groups, a unit container having protuberances for engaging the pockets or recesses of a certain group, and a multiple container having protuberances for engaging certain of the pockets o r recesses in two or more groups.

23. In a carrier of the character described, a platform, containers disposed thereon and having feet extendingbelow thelevel of the platform, and means rigidly connected with for receiving said feet to prevent the containers from shifting and tilting on said platform.

24. In a carrier of the character described,

a platform, containers disposed thereonand having feet extending below the level of the platform, and pockets rigidly connected with said platform for receiving said feet to prevent the containers on said platform. s

25. In a carrier of the character described, a platform, containers di osed thereon, feet on said containers exten lng below the top `of said platform, and means provided at the outer edge of said platform for receiving said feet to prevent the containers from shifting and tilting on said platform.

Y 26. In -a carrier of the character described, a platform provided with pockets at its outer edge, containers disposed on said platform, and feet on said containers extending into said pockets to a snicient depth to prevent the containers from shifting and tilting on said platform.

27. The combination of a carrier, and a container having engageable lockin devices beneath its Hoor and near its me ial line, and engaging locking signature'this 31st day of March, 1921.

HENRY W. KIRCHNER.

from shifting and tilting p devices. on the carrier ,for cooperation with said devices.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix myA 

